Ecological determinants of species loss in remnant prairies
-
-
Authors: M. K. Leach, and T. J. Givnish
Date: 1996
Journal: Science
Volume: 273
Number: 5281
Pages: 1555-1558
Summary of Methods: In Wisconsin, the average absolute loss of species per site per year was 0.45% for dry prairies, 0.77% for mesic prairies, and 1.03% for wet prairies. These values imply that half the plant species present in a remnant wet prairie would disappear in less than half-century, whereas, in the best case, half of the botanical diversity of a remnant dry prairie would disappear in slightly more than a century. Most of these species that were lost were short plants; species <0.5 m tall. N-fixers account for 11% of the absolute loss and have 45% less recruitment than non-fixers. Losses among regionally rare species were especially severe; the 13 state-listed endangered or state-listed threatened species in our remnants lost 28 of 38 total occurrences, an absolute loss of 74%, more than twice the average of 34% for all species. The interruption of landscape-scale processes (such as wildfire) by fragmentation is an often overlooked mechanism that may be eroding biodiversity in many habitats around the world.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: wisconsin, prairie remnants, species loss, fire suppression, landscape fragmentation, nitrogen-fixing plants, fire
Annotation: Grazing intensity is not specified. Season of use is not specified,
-
Get article
Cite article with DOI
-